Indy 500 Parade

Oh MAN, you guys. The Indy 500 parade is an epic event in my life every single year. I'm not really sure why we decided to start going in the first place, but from that first year when Amy got tipsy cooking us breakfast and realized that the people in the parade could hear us, we were all sold. I don't know if getting the attention of celebrities and having the parade watch you sounds as fun as it actually is, but trust me ... IT IS.

We didn't have a ton of celebrities this year, but the ones that we got were super awesome and had the best reactions. Shall we?

Why yes, that IS Mario Lopez, aka AC Slater, pointing at us! Happy accident, I didn't realize that the building we were across from had the address "500", but I was excited to see it pop up in the pictures.

Anyway, as many of you know, Billy was an advertising copywriter for several years and he's very funny, and he told me to make a sign that said, "The parade is cooler with AC". This was, obviously, an awesome idea. Mario showed us the love and I was impressed that he was a good sport about still being known to people of a certain age as Slater. He made all the people in his car look at us, which was totally exciting.

Now yes, this picture is blurry but I so don't care, because doesn't it look like Slater just saved The Max? OMG, I LOVE HIM. There was a lady next to us, and she was like, "Oh, I just got the best picture ever because of your sign! Did you know he was going to be here?" Ummm ... well, yes, because the only other option is that I carry around giant posterboard signs with said verbiage just in case AC SLATER HAPPENS TO SHOW UP. But I was totally excited for her, and I admitted that we stalk which celebrities are coming for weeks in advance on the 500 festival website.

Also, speaking of Slater saving The Max, if you are a Saved by the Bell fan and haven't seen the clip of Mario Lopez on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, OMG, you must Hulu it. It was so, so hysterical.

Something that's awesome about the parade is that I bring my massive lens, and it's damn near impossible to miss. The celebs totally recognize it, so they'll usually pose for me or pay a little extra attention, which rules.

Also, I should tell you now that we basically demand two thumbs up from everyone who passes, so that we know that they're specifically acknowledging us, and not just anyone. Mario apparently only gave one, but he gave us so much other attention that he is CLEARLY off the hook. :)

This hot babe is Kate Flannery, and I take special pride in how cracked up she got because that was at my sign. You may recognize her as Meredith from The Office, and if you watch that show, you may also recognize what I put on the poster I made for her, which was, "Meredith, where are your panties?" I LOOOOOVED her reaction, AND she put on a little show for us!

This is what I would call her "ow ow!!!!" look.

Also, it's INSANE how pretty she is in real life. They really do a good job of downplaying her looks on the show, because she's a super hot babe in real life.

Notice the guy in the passenger seat taking pictures of us? That's pretty much a slam dunk in our parade lives.

I know I'm showing you a ton of pictures of her, but Kate was probably the highlight of the entire parade for me. And now we're on a first name basis, and I love her.

Here she is reenacting hiking her dress up ...

And one more for good measure.

And the point as she's leaving us. She was so fun--they should bring her back every single year.

You may also notice Melora Hardin (a.k.a. Jan from The Office) in the car beside her. We did have an I Heart Jan sign that Amy made, but I didn't get as many pics because I was so busy with Kate and because Melora was on the other side of the street, but she also is incredibly pretty in real life, which seems impossible since she's so gorgeous on TV you think it must be magic.

And here she is giving us the I Love You sign, but mostly I just loved how much fun these two were having. I should've totally followed their cars and stalked them until they had girly cocktails with me, but alas, my work was not yet finished.

Our friend Megan needed pics of Josh Duhamel and her camera was getting ready to die, so naturally, I was all over it. Now Josh isn't looking particularly excited in these pics, but keep in mind that we were at almost the very end of the parade route, and it was HOT out there. He looked like he was really wilting and possibly feeling a little nauseous, but he was hanging in there and being a trooper anyway.

Now, I didn't realize this, but this was Megan's first parade. I guess it just felt like she had always been there, because it seemed so appropriate that she would be. She brought a sign along instructing Josh not to "phunk w/ her heart", but he was so out of it when he passed us that he didn't see it. But was Megan going to accept that? NO! Hell no! She straight up took off and sprinted four blocks after him until he saw her sign and she got the reaction she was looking for. He was all touched and happy and she felt good about the whole thing. And that is why Megan is a champion at life.

I included this one of Dario Franchitti and Ashley Judd because I love her every single year. She's never on the list as a celebrity attending and she doesn't get any special billing because she's just there being a supportive wife. And she always looks like such a beautiful, charming southern belle, and they always seem happy together. Oh, it's almost just too much romance for a parade celebrating a car race. :)

And here is our Helio! Someone (I think Natalie) made a sign saying that they heart Helio with a little heart dotting the "i" in Helio, and he gave us such a good, sweet, genuine, cheerful reaction. And we were all totally excited when he won. (Funny sidenote: Billy's mom told him "that dancer won" the 500. Billy was like ... "Ummm, I think he was a racecar driver before he was a dancer." Hilarious!)

So you know how I said double thumbs up is our thing? We finally made a sign this year telling people specifically what to do--it said "DOUBLE THUMBS". And we got totally excited when a float came down the parade that had one thumb up ... we think it's just a matter of time before double thumbs up becomes the symbol for the entire parade.

And one last one of Helio! I think he wants to hug us!

Back Home Again in Indiana (and now that's in your head)

So, you know how I've been out and about taking pictures in Chicago? This past weekend I was back in Indianapolis and decided to take a crack at it. The results were, as I'm sure you (might) agree, pretty bitchin! I'll be back again this weekend for the 500 parade (one of the highlights of my year!), and I have a few more things in mind that I'd like to get so stay tuned, all you Indy fans! (Also, I thought about spreading this post out over the next couple of days to work up to 500 weekend, but I am entirely too much about instant gratification to roll that way.)

These flowers were so, SO vibrant and right out in front of the Murat. And the bees were posing for me! You know, it's so weird--I'm not afraid of bees at all. Wasps yes, bees no. But I am HORRIFIED of bugs in general, particularly june bugs and things that make their way into my bathtub. Guh-ross.

So pretty I can hardly handle it. I love spring and I LOOOOVE summer. :)

I was actually really, really happy with how this one turned out. I love all the sculptures in Indy involving tires, mostly because people manage to get pretty creative with them, but I just felt like this was the perfect meeting of the Indy 500 tradition and art. It was right outside the Chatterbox on Mass Ave, so if you make it over there, check it out.

This picture wasn't doing much for me until I tried it in black and white, and then it just exploded off the screen at me. I love it, especially the raggedy edges. Billy said it reminded him of a Johnny Cash song. (It's something about a ragged old flag, but I'm too lazy right now to look up the name. It happens.)

This one also appealed to the city girl in me, because I like the street and Riley towers in the background, and again, that flower really was that purple. I don't know if I've ever seen irises looking so lively and so deeply purple, but I'm into it!

This one wasn't necessarily my favorite, but I had to include it because as soon as I took it, I titled it in my head--"The Back Side is the Best Side." It was just too good of a title to waste.

This ended up being my favorite shot of Wheeler Mission. I tried to get some with the people in front of it, but they just weren't working. I think I might need to try again later with a wider lens and possibly at night, because I am serious--Wheeler Mission is one of the most interesting places to look at in the city. I purposely used to drive past on my way home from work because you were guaranteed to see something ridiculous happen, and I love a funny story. And it's just ... never dull.

This squirrel was posing for me! FIERCE! But seriously, he's the cutest little thing ever and when I left, I told him what a good squirrel he was (seriously).

LOVED this shot of the fountain ... I forget which park it is, but you know--it's over there on Pennsylvania across from the Indianapolis Star building? Anyway, I thought this turned out great and I even tried it in black and white, but I felt like it lost all the depth of those greens and blues, so this was the big winner.

I snapped this one from a parking garage, and granted, everyone knows I love derelict buildings, but my absolute favorite thing on this one was all the stars. Super perfecto. I hope to one day live in a building covered in stars. Hopefully not derelict, but, you know, I'll take what I can get.

This one was a total dark horse and wound up being one of my very favorites of the day. I am in LOVE with it, and sorry if the tooting of my own horn is giving you a headache, but I totally want it on my wall. I think that, first of all, I love all the different building facades and how there is so much to look at. And I really like the composition, too. I like the trees peeking into the bottom and the stoplight totally rocking the rule of thirds, and how the streetlamp adds interest to the top left hand corner. But mostly, I just like how I finally feel like I'm getting better at taking wider pictures, and pictures without people, because that isn't what I've been historically great at. I mean, don't get me wrong, people and animals are still my favorite subjects, but I just want to be more well-rounded and I feel really rewarded that the practice is paying off. :)

And I liked this one too. :) I've been a big fan of that clock since day one--it adds some interest and it looks so classy, but in such an interesting, vintage way. And the way the windows are distorting the building across the street gives it just enough interest and color for me.

This shot just kind of grabbed me, probably because the light was pretty good around that time and everything looked interesting. This was on the corner of Delaware and Market, right outside the Subway and across from City Market. People who work (or spend days) downtown will recognize this as the corner that the Have a Great Day Guy stands on. I hope this isn't impeding him. He's seriously the best--he's an old war veteran with probably not all his teeth, and he is the happiest, sweetest, cutest thing you can imagine. He never asks anyone for anything, just tells everyone that walks past to have a great day (hence the name), makes sure his corner is swept up, and I am telling you--he is the most cared for homeless person in that city. Someone got him a chair, people bring him lunch, he has a snowsuit and coat that would pass the Chicago winter test (which is major, let me tell you) ... and I just think it's awesome that by being a happy, nice, good person, that will come back to you and you will have the things you need. Great job, humanity. :)

Speaking of the City Market, I got this pretty good shot of the sign, but the real action there is inside. I have next Tuesday off, which will be a work day for most people, so I think I'm going to have to go hit that. I loooooove the market. It actually seems a little out of place in Indy--it seems like something you'd find in New York or something, but it's so great and adds so much character to the city that I can't wait to go back and take some pics. Oh man, I'm getting so excited just thinking about it!

I almost walked right past this, and I have no idea what made me stop and do a double take, but I'm glad I did. I was on my way back to my car on Alabama, and I passed this pole out in front of the Salvation Army. "What are you waiting for?" is totally a question I feel like I should always be asking myself, and I felt so inspired by it. Not to even mention that the ragged, disintegrating label is completely gorgeous and perfect. More for the wall? Maybe. :)

Good for you, Person in Fountain Square Responsible for This. You're awesome. And I think I kind of love you.

And since I was in Fountain Square anyway, I thought I'd take a shot of the Duckpin Bowling signs. It's totally one of the most awesome things to do in Indy, if not a tiny bit expensive and, okay, they're sort of nazis about making reservations, but as long as you make sure to do that, it's SUPER fun and the place is a feast for the eyes, no joke.

This was taken on Pennsylvania, right across from the Abbey. I love how it distorts the buildings, and how the buildings reflected are so old school and that metal is so modern and space age. It's like the best juxtaposition ever, and I wonder if the person who designed it thought so too.

And finally, because I can, some garbage! I was headed back to Plainfield on 40 from downtown and this was the last thing I felt really inspired to take a picture of. And why not? Trash can be pretty too. (Insert your own joke here.)

I'm really REALLY looking forward to this coming weekend and there will be more to come, including (hopefully) some shots of one of my favorite places in the entire universe. If you know me, there's a good chance you already know what that place is, and if you don't, whoa buddy. Strap yourself in. I'm also going to take a picture of the world's cutest twin babies, and with any luck, some serious B-listers! You won't wanna miss it. :)

Sunny Spring Weekend in Chicagoland!

Another gorgeous weekend of kickin' ass and taking pictures! (See what I did there?) I had some fun with my camera, although I did notice that it is in serious need of a sensor cleaning. I think I might take it to Roberts when I'm home, since I trust them to do a good job.

I'm hoping for some sun next weekend to head into the city and do some portraits, or maybe hit the beach with my camera! I'm totally working out all my cabin fever with photography!

The clouds were pretty, and I like the idea of this picture, but I'm not sure how much I actually like the picture, if that makes sense. I just can't decide.

I finally got to take some pictures of cattails! I wasn't really happy with them in the camera, but with a little split toning, I was much happier with them. And I've been wanting to take pics of the cattails for so long that I was NOT going down without a fight!

And a black and white version. It was hard to get very close to them, because apparently cattails grow best in swampy puddles full of trash. :) But maybe next time I'll bust out the big lens and see what happens.

Flash came along for this picture adventure (as did Amy and Billy), and he was being very cute, and his muzzle is at maximum cuteness (which is to say, long enough that he looks scruffy and not too pointy/poodley, but not so long that he looks like a ragamuffin), so he got his own photoshoot.

This one, I included so you can see how he has Ewok lips.

Cute scruffy puppy in black and white! You can kind of see (especially if you're used to looking at him all the time) that he has grass and whatnot in his hair, which is because he scooted headfirst on his back down a hill. It was SO funny and cute, which is kind of Flash's M.O.

Happy doggie gazing into the distance! I'm telling you, Flash should be a doggie model. He's cuter than all the dogs on TV (although somewhat less well-behaved).

And this is the last one and my fave! Doesn't he just have the cutest little face you've ever seen?

And back to the cattails! You can totally see how I took a little photography detour and then got back to work. :) This was definitely my fave of the cattail pictures, and I finally felt like I got it exactly how I wanted it.

A black and white that I was actually really pleased with of a traffic light and its chipping paint.

I ended up LOVING this one, mostly because I took some (obvious) liberties with the color of the sky. I took a lot of pictures of flowers and flowering trees, and it's so fun because I really think flowers are one of the only things that like ... DEMAND to be photographed in direct sunlight. And I think that's appropriate!

More flowers! I obviously enjoy split tones, but I especially am enjoying it on flowers right now. It brings out their color.

These tulips were GORGEOUS.

And another shot!

And one last one with more red in the background, and I swear, no more pictures of this tulip! :)

One last flowery pic--I included this because I've recently caught on to the concept of layer masks and I used one here, since the background was like a weird gray color. So I put a blue layer on top and essentially erased all of it but the very edges, and I liked how the colors turned out. I get all excited about learning new things (and eventually figuring out how to use them right). :)

Yay for sunshine!